Breast pads and method of making same



1968 J. E. HOWARD ETAL 3,417,755

BREAST PADS AND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME Filed July 15, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 N [Q N] v i.

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N Q Y? w h :5 w a m (q 4- i/Vl/ENTORS M Q T JAcK E. 'HOWARD, LEW/s A. KA LA/v MG ZW m N ATTo/e/vsY Dec. 24, 1968 J. E. HOWARD ET AL 3,417,755

BREAST PADS AND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME I Filed July 15. 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. 3

iilmilx S N H 7MP N m m M 2. Q WEA A 5 a i United States Patent 3,417,755 BREAST PADS AND METHOD OF MAKING SAME Jack E. Howard and Lewis A. Kaplan, Los Angeles, Calif., assignors to United Cellular Products Corp., Los Angeles, Calif., a corporation of California Filed July 15, 1966, Ser. No. 565,858 Claims. (Cl. 128-516) This invention relates to breast pads for use in brassieres and other garments and to a method of making the same.

The primary object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved breast pad and method of making such pads in which the pad is made from raw material of the type having a plurality of loosely associated synthetic fibers held together by bonding agents. Such material is commercially available in rolls or batts.

In the past, breast pads have been formed by molding foam rubber, for example, or by fabricating or processing other similar foam materials. An entirely nonfoam material has recently become popular with brassiere manufacturers, due to its light weight and porosity. It is commonly formed of randomly webbed or garnetted synthetic fibers which are held together in a spaced relationship by acrylic or polyvinyl chloride bonding agents. Such materials are commonly described as fiberfill, al though the term fiberfill is believed to be technically correct in describing only materials having garnetted fibers, rather than others having randomly webbed fibers. In any event, the present invention is capable of use with substantially any fiberfill materials or other materials having garnetted or randomly webbed fibers or with materials which comprises or resemble nonwoven fabric.

It is accordingly an object of our invention to provide breast pads formed of such materials and to provide a new and improved method of making the same.

In essence, our invention contemplates forming a piece of suitable raw material of the type described into a coneshaped blank, preferably by cutting away a segment and securing the edges together. The blank is then preferably molded to give it the desired shape and contour. After being molded, it is customarily trimmed. The pad is then completed by spraying or coating it on one or both sides with suitable material, such as Hypalon.

The resulting finished pad has substantially greater physical strength, resilience and washability than the raw material from which it is formed. The bond of the fibers is increased and the pad will hold seams better than the original raw material. The surfaces of the pad are smoother and the pad has improved heat resistance and color stability. It is also more resistant to oxidation and discoloration.

It is among the objects of the present invention to provide breast pads and a method of making the same having all of the advantages and benefits set forth above and hereinafter in this specification.

Our invention also comprises such other objects, advantages and capabilities as will later more fully appear and which are inherently possessed by our invention.

While we have shown in the accompanying drawings and described in this specification preferred embodiments of our invention, it should be understood that the same are susceptible of modification and change without departing from the spirit of our invention.

Referring to the drawings,

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of spraying and drying apparatus in use on a plurality of breast pads;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line 22 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of a circular piece of raw material with a segment removed from it;

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FIG. 4 is a top plan view of the piece shown in FIG. 3 after the edges have been secured together to form a cone-shaped blank;

FIG. 5 is a side elevational view of a two-part mold, with the cone-shaped blank shown in dotted lines within the mold;

FIG. 6 is a top plan view of the blank after it has been removed from the mold;

FIG. 7 is a top plan view of the blank shown in FIG. 6 after trimming;

FIG. 8 is a top plan view of the pad shown in FIG. 7 after spraying;

FIG. 9 is a sectional view of the edge of the pad taken on line 9 9 of FIG. 7.

The preferred embodiment of our breast pad and method of making the same are shown in the accompanying drawings. Referring to FIG. 3 of the drawings, a circular piece 10 may be cut from fiberfill or similar material, which is customarily supplied in the form of a roll or batt which may be from a fraction of an inch to more than an inch thick.

A section of the circular piece 10 is cut away along edges 11 and 12. These edges are then brought together and secured by means of stitching, heat sealing, adhesives or other suitable means, such means being represented in the drawings by the stitches 13. The circular piece 10 is thus formed into a cone-shaped blank 14. v The cone-shaped blank 14 is then inserted between the parts of a mold having an upper male part 15 and a complementary lower female part 16. The blank 14 is subjected to heat and pressure simultaneously at a temperature such as 300 degrees for a period of time such as thirty seconds to one minute, at a pressure such as pounds per square inch of mold area.

The molding of the cone-shaped blank 14 converts it into a molding blank 18 which has the shape desired in the finished pad. The molding may also compress the blank along the edges of the finished pad, as indicated by the lines 17 in FIG. 6 of the drawings. The molding may also partially compress and bevel the edges of the pad adjacent to the lines 17, the beveled portion 45 being in the area between the dotted lines 20 in FIG. 7 of the drawings.

After the molded blank 18 is removed from the mold, it is trimmed or out along the lines 17 to form the trimmed blank 19 shown in FIG. 7 of the drawings. The trimmed blank 19 is then sprayed or coated, as described hereinafter, to provide the finished pad 21 which is shown in FIG. 8 of the drawings.

Referring to FIG. 1 of the drawings, a large number of the trimmed blanks 19 are placed in rows on top of an endless belt 22 which is driven by rotatable gears and rollers 23 and a motor 43. The size of the trimmed blanks 19 has been greatly exaggerated in proportion to the apparatus in FIGS. 1 and 2 in order to clarify the illustration. The upper portion of the belt 22 which supports the blanks 19 is held in a horizontal position by a plurality of slats 30.

The starting point of the spraying operation is the end of the belt 22 at the right hand side of FIG. 1, with the belt 22 and blanks 19 moving toward the left side of the figure. A traveling spray nozzle 24 is mounted above the belt 22. The spray nozzle 24 is held by a support member 25 which is moved transversely with respect to the belt 22 by an endless chain 26 mounted around gears 27 and driven by a motor 28.

The spray nozzle 24 moves transversely back and forth across the belt 22 and coats the trimmed blanks 19 as they are moved beneath it by the belt 22. The spray nozzle 24 preferably applies to the trimmed blanks 19 a spray of Hypalon, which is dissolved into a substantially thin solution by a suitable solvent such as xylene. The con- 3 centration of Hypalon may be varied such as from ten percent to fifty percent. The Hypalon spray material moves toward the spray nozzle 24 through a hose 40, while air under pressure is supplied through a hose 41.

After being sprayed, the blanks 19 are moved by the belt 22 through a covered drying area 31. They are then moved through a heating area 32, in which they are subjected to heat from a plurality of overhead gas fired heaters 33. Gas for the heaters 33 is supplied through pipes 34. Vent pipes 35 and 36 respectively are provided for the drying area 31 and the heating area 32. The heating operation may optionally be omitted if the type of spray, atmospheric conditions and other conditions are such that the spray will dry satisfactorily without it.

It should also be noted that the spray material may be colored, if desired, in order to provide finished pads 20 which are colored to match the material of the brassiere in which they are to be used, commonly used colors being black, pink, etc.

The finished pads 20 are removed from the end of the belt 22 at the left-hand side of FIG. 1 of the drawings. The finished breast pads are far more durable in Wear and in washing than the raw fiberfill or like material from which they are formed and they will function in a manner comparable to breast pads formed by conventional methods from previously known materials.

Other suitable elastomeric materials which are similar to Hypalon may be used in its place. For example, styrene-butadiene latices, acrylonitrile latices or other similar elastomeric materials having similar properties.

We claim:

1. The method of making a breast pad from flat fiberfill material or the like comprising forming a cone-shaped pad from said fiat fiberfill material and spraying said pad on at least one side thereof with Hypalon or the like, to provide a pad which is stronger, more resilient and more washable than the fiberfill material from which it was formed.

2. The method described in claim 1, said pad being formed by cutting a substantially circular piece of said material from a roll or batt, cutting a section of said circular piece away and securing the edges of said section together.

3. The method described in claim 2, and placing said cone-shaped blank in a mold and applying heat and pressure simultaneously to said blank to form said blank into the shape and contour desired in the finished pad.

4. The method described in claim 3, and compressing said blank within said mold along lines defining the edges of the entire periphery of the finished pad.

5. The method described in claim 4, and partially compressing the portions of said blank adjacent to said lines to form beveled areas adjacent to the edges of said pad.

6. The method described in claim 1, and applying heat to said pad after said spray has been applied.

7. The method described in claim 6, in which a plurality of said pads are sprayed and dried simultaneously by mounting said pads on a moving endless belt, said belt moving said pads beneath a traveling spray nozzle reciprocating transversely above and across said belt and pads to coat said pads as they are moved beneath said nozzle by said belt.

8. The method described in claim 7, said belt moving said pads through a heating area after said pads have been sprayed, said heating area having heating means disposed above said pads and belt to heat dry said pads as said pads are moved beneath said heating means by said belt.

9. A breast pad for-med from fiat fiberfill material or the like, said pad being substantially conical in shape, said pad having on at least one side thereof a coating of Hypalon or the like, to provide a pad which is substantially stronger, more resilient and more washable than the material from which it was formed.

10. A breast pad according to claim 9, said pad being molded to its desired shape and contour.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,891,544 6/1959 London 128-461 3,212,224- 4/1967 Coates et al. 128-516 3,164,655 1/1965 Howard et a1. 264-321 3,348,549 10/1967 Brodmann et al. 264-324 ADELE M. EAGER, Primary Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R. 

9. A BREAST PAD FORMED FROM FLAT FIBERFILL MATERIAL OR THE LIKE, SAID PAD BEING SUBSTANTIALLY CONICAL IN SHAPE, SAID PAD HAVING ON AT LEAST ONE SIDE THEREOF A COATING OF HYPALON OR THE LIKE, TO PROVIDE A PAD WHICH IS SUBSTANTIALLY STRONGER, MORE RESILIENT AND MORE WASHABLE THAN THE MATERIAL FROM WHICH IT WAS FORMED. 